Published on the 13/10/2022 | Written by Newsdesk

Summit to explore key levers in navigating an economic crisis…

In the lead up to presenting at The Tax Summit 2022, leading Australian political and workplace commentators have revealed some of their key concerns and visions for a more resilient future.

The way we live and work has changed significantly over the past two-and-a-half years, and it’s likely to have an everlasting impact.

More recently, the economic environment has shifted rapidly. Australians are now experiencing accelerating inflation, delayed growth in wages, high levels of personal, business and government debt, all combining with steadily increasing interest rates.

“Tax is the area of government policy that has the single biggest impact on the lives of its citizens.”

It’s a volatile combination and the pressure on improving productivity has never been greater.

Speakers at the Summit include commentators from across the political and business spectrum.

Atlassian futurist on the ‘future of work’

Dominic Price is Atlassian’s resident work futurist and in-house ‘team doctor,’ Price believes if everyone in business leadership does a ‘few degrees better every week,’ it has the potential to drive sustainable improvements.

Price cuts through the noise to design collaborative patterns that are easily adaptable for any purpose and every organisation.

Ahead of The Tax Summit, he shares a ‘goodie bag’ of pragmatic tips that every attendee can action to become a better leader, manager, teammate and professional in the modern work environment.

They are lessons learned after Atlassian made waves as one of the first companies to close offices indefinitely and transition all staff to work remotely at the height of the pandemic.

Atlassian’s modern work tips:

• Onboard new team members remotely
• Distribute ways of working and build effective teams
• Focus on intentional togetherness and psychological safety in new teams
• Have less meetings
• Work across timezones to improve inclusion

“I’ve been working with teams across the globe to build cohesion and identity in an environment where none of them have ever met before physically. And it’s very doable. Many organisations just don’t have the muscle to do it. Building that muscle starts with becoming a good teammate and working within the limitations of our environments by tweaking our mindset,” says Price.

“My goal in life is to get people to connect across an organisation. We find true community where there’s diversity and inclusion. When you have those differences of opinion and get them to work together, that’s where the magic happens. There is so much opportunity for everyone to do a few degrees better every week. It has the potential to drive huge sustainable improvements.”

Political leaders on resilience and productivity

Australia’s 29th Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull AC, serving the nation from 2015-2018, will also be speaking at the event, highlights that it’s a challenging time for the global economy.

“Inflation in the United States remains stubbornly high, Europe and the UK head into winter with a deep energy crisis, and global markets are volatile,” says Turnbull.

“In Australia, inflation is the highest it’s been since the early 1990s. But these challenges are not beyond us. Australia has many opportunities to create a strong, modern economy equipped for the challenges that lie ahead.”

Allegra Spender MP, says the time is ripe to turn around the tax system to support greater productivity.

“At this year’s Tax Summit, I will be advocating for a wide-ranging parliamentary review or summit on our tax system,” says Spender. “Tax is the area of government policy that has the single biggest impact on the lives of its citizens. Our tax policy doesn’t support productivity, it doesn’t support equity, and it doesn’t support fiscal or environmental sustainability. This has to change.”

The Tax Summit is on in Sydney 19-21 October and is hosted by The Tax Institute, Australia’s member-based association of tax professionals. Find out more about the event and register to attend here.